Identity Theft?

A couple of days ago I woke up bright and early at a quarter to noon, as my increasingly-lazy self has started doing more and more, and the first thing I did was check my email.

IMPORTANT EMAIL CONCERNING SECURITY INFORMATION: the subject heading from my old job. Needless to say it caught my eye.

Turns out that a couple of days ago thieves broke into the HQ of the company worked for before leaving for France, and had stolen a stack of ready-to-be-sent-out W-2 forms, which, naturally, had our names, addresses, DoBs, and social security numbers.

What do I do first, do I cry or save that for after I rip my hair out?

I actually didn't end up doing either one. But my to-do list for that potentially-productive day totally went out the window and I spent the day on the phone with everyone. The IRS, Social Security, my banks, credit bureaus, the FTC, AllClear ID, my mom...

I still have papers to send in and credit reports to order and other stuff. It was really the first time I wished I was at home, because working everything out with a nine-hour time difference from the other side of the ocean is frustrating.

The worst part is waiting. When something like this happens there are steps you can take, but in all honesty, if this person/these people decide to use my social security information, there isn't much I can do besides wait for some sort of problem to arise. A new credit card in my name that I didn't open, a credit inquiry I didn't initiate, the IRS calling asking for more taxes on money I never earned, being arrested for a crime I didn't commit... I'm going to stop there because it's nearly 1:00 am and I have enough trouble sleeping as it is.

There was a positive side to yesterday, one that appealed to my 12-year-old self. I had to wait a couple of hours before I could start calling everyone (décalage horaire...you kill me), so I decided to go for a run up to a forest not to far from my place and I found an adorable little tree house along the way. I think, when it comes to awesomeness, tree houses rank somewhere near the same level as goats in my mind. That's saying a lot.

So... fingers crossed, I guess, with this whole situation.